Armored Core: A New Dawn
by Coloradoartist
Summary: Okay, this is an Armored Core 2 story and is pretty cool, if I do say so myself. It's about four young Ravens who are about to enbark on a trip that will change their lives forever... Read if you want to find out more! : ) Please Read and Review, though.
1. The Begginning of a New Age

A/N: Hey, All. It's Joef. First of all, these characters do not belong to me and so on and so forth, you know the drill. Here is a story from an awesome game, Armored Core 2. You may have trouble understanding some of it, if you haven't played it- but you will still enjoy it….hopefully. : ) Anyway, as usual- please Read and Review…or at least Review. See y'all later.  
  
-Joe(f)  
  
  
  
"Mr. Dean…" A voice echoed in the back of Ben's mind. He discarded the call, it was of no use to him now. "Mr. Dean…." The voice called again before Ben ejected it once more, it was not needed. His pencil shaded in the steel covering of the figure in his drawing. A robot, a machine, an AC armed to the teeth.  
  
"MR. DEAN!" A voice yelled and Ben snapped back to reality, his pencil clattering to the floor as a hand slammed down angrily on his desk! Classmates snickered annoyingly as his teacher looked down on him, a scene of intolerance etched along his middle-aged face.  
  
"Yes, Mr. Ruffini?" Ben asked innocently, not thinking about stooping from his seat to pick up the pencil that had rolled under his sneakers.  
  
A hand lashed out violently, but not to strike Ben. His drawing of the machine he had created in his conscious was mercilessly snatched from his desk, there was nothing he could do about it.  
  
"Still drawing doodles in college, Mr. Dean?" The teacher taunted, waving the picture in his face.  
  
Ben remained silent, the lump in his throat telling him he probably could not utter a word if he tried. The teacher stood up and smoothed out the drawing in front of him. The so-called 'doodle' was an extremely realistic drawing, but Mr. Ruffini did not seem to think so.  
  
"The Benjamonster?" Mr. Ruffini asked in an amused tone, raising a brown eyebrow as the other college students around him snickered loudly. Mr. Ruffini pretended not to notice the outbursts of sniggers around the classroom, and instead to take advantage of them.  
  
"You see, Mr. Dean…" He taunted, starting to pace around Ben's desk with, still looking at the paper in his hand. Ben's eyes followed him anxiously, waiting for the criticism to arrive. "You see, the FCS in this is completely…um,…the RpS-MER/A3 radiator is totally out of….well, the Zbt-21 ARTERE booster is just…" He broke off, not able to find a single flaw with the drawing as Ben struggled to keep a smirk off of his lips at this fact.  
  
"Well, the whole drawing is completely horrible." He finished, not able to make a criticism to it. He crumpled up the paper and tossed it back to Ben, who caught the newly ruined and crumpled drawing in his palm.  
  
"As I was saying before Mr. Dean decided to begin Art Class," Mr. Ruffini began, but before he could utter another word an immense ring of the bell echoed from somewhere in the halls, Ben was free.  
  
Ben scrambled up his books and bolted out the door before Mr. Ruffini could yell at him to stay after class. Soon, Ben was in the hustle and hubbub of the hallway at the end of the school day once more.  
  
"So," A voice asked behind him. A voice he was glad to hear. "How was Mr. Rough Weenie?"  
  
Ben sighed as he remembered the humiliation he just endured, but was glad to have a friend nearby. The voice belonged to Joe, one of his best and only friends at the Cron Raven University of Dangerous Hunting Outward Life Education, or more commonly known by its initials: C.R.U.D.H.O.L.E.  
  
Joe was about six-foot-five with a brown ponytail and a pierced ear. He had blue eyes, and even though he tried, none of the girls found him very attractive. Ben however, was about six-four and had extremely dark, almost black hair in a bowl cut, brown eyes, and was very talented. All the girls liked him, but most didn't have the nerve to say anything to him.  
  
"That good, huh?" Joe laughed at the expression on his friend's face.  
  
"Hey, guys." A voice said from behind them.  
  
Turning their heads as they walked down the hall, Joe and Ben saw two of their friends walking up behind them, hand-in-hand.  
  
"Yo, Shane. Hey, Rach. What's up?"  
  
"Not much." Shane answered, slinging his hand around Rachael's shoulder.  
  
Shane was about six-two with hair dyed and ice blue and spiked up, he had hazel eyes, and was your basic guy-next-door. Rachael was about six feet and had long, red hair in a ponytail most of the time, with beautiful green eyes. Every guy in the college wanted her, but since she and Shane knew each other since fifth grade, she was going out with Shane at the moment.  
  
"Shane, I gotta go meet Mary at Mazzio's Pizza Place for studying. Exams, you know?" She finished, turning to her friends. "Catch you guys later, bye Shane." She finished this and gave Shane a quick peck on the cheek before turning and walking the other way down the hall.  
  
"Hmm," Joe commented as they began down the stairs to their dorm rooms, stroking his chin playfully. "Mary will be at Mazzio's. Hmm, maybe you should go Mr. Stud." Joe finished, glancing at Ben with a grin.  
  
Ben punched Joe in the arm, which made him stagger for a bit before catching up with his friends.  
  
Mary was about six-foot-three with brown hair usually in a ponytail or bun of some sort. She had brown eyes, and was very pretty. Ben had liked her since he saw her for the first time, and Mary the same, but neither of them could pluck up the courage to say anything to one another.  
  
"What?" Joe asked sarcastically. "Maybe you should go."  
  
Joe quickly ducked behind Shane as Ben aimed another punch.  
  
Shane quickly unlocked the dorm door and walked in, the only dorm with three residents: Joe, Ben, and Shane.  
  
"So," Shane commented as he slung down his backpack and plopped down on the bunk bed. "What do you guys want to do for the weekend?"  
  
"Hmm, go down to Mazzio's?" Joe asked sarcastically.  
  
"Dammit, Joe!" Ben yelled and swung at him again, the knuckles missing by inches.  
  
"Why don't we go down to the garage?" Ben asked, swinging around in a chair in front of his hologram computer.  
  
"Hmm, sweetness." Shane commented and sat up in bed, slipping his shoes back on and walking to the door. "You guys coming?" He asked.  
  
"Nah," Joe joked, shoving on some sneakers. "I'm just gonna grab some pizza at Mazzio's."  
  
Ben growled and clenched his fists, but otherwise walked out the door. Shane shut the entrance and Joe, unaware to this fact, walked straight into the wooden door, the bang echoing inside the room and out in the hallway.  
  
"Wrong turn at Albuquerque?" Joe mumbled before falling backwards to the ground, unconscious. 


	2. The Dawning of the Resistence

Steel on steel screeched as the door to the abandoned garage rolled open on its rusty hinges. A dark void stood before the three friends as they smirked in a satisfied way. They entered the building as the door slid shut behind them, the bang as it closed echoing in the darkness. Suddenly, a brief yet immense boom rang through the air as a spotlight clicked on, flooding the ground with light. Soon, two more lights banged on, revealing three immense machines standing intimidating and powerful, towering above the friends.  
  
The AC robot on the left was the shortest of them, but also looked the fiercest. The whole machine was a dark pine green, with area of black painted into it. It had four legs branching off like a spider's; these legs were made completely out of different sized cylinders and looked very lightweight. Next, the chest/core area was peaked out, like a diamond with two immensely destructive arms on both sides. These arms looked like medieval lances that the knights used, with an opening at the end. The shoulders had two large objects mounted on each one. On the left shoulder there was an extremely massive gun, it looked like somewhat of a grenade launcher. On the right shoulder was a colossal cube, holding dozens of missiles. Mount on the back was an immense cylinder, like a jet pack of some sort that appeared able to even jettison this colossal beast of iron and steel airborne. The head looked like half of a titanic medicine pill with an antenna protruding from the back, it looked extremely lethal altogether.  
  
The second robot in the middle was the tallest, and also looked extremely dangerous. The legs looked like that of a dinosaur with the reversed joint. Four spikes jutted out from where the hip would be on each leg. The feet had two toes branching off in the front and one in the back. The core was a round, almost complete sphere and the arms were completely made of different rectangles and squares. In the right arm, there was a colossal gun clutched in the fist. The gun had a circular handle and the turret looked like a parrot's beak. On the left hand was a circular disk, used to emit a flash of intense laser light. On each should stood two titanic gatling guns, that looked capable of ripping through any steel or metal substance. The head looked like a tyrannosaur's and the whole AC looked like some kind of futuristic, steel dinosaur. On the back was the same jetpack as the other, but there were also two small spheres on each shoulder blade, these looked like some kind of booster that was able to propel even this hunk of iron to tremendous speeds. It was a pitch-black color and looked like something you definitely would not want to cross.  
  
Chains suspended the last on the right seeing as it did not have any legs. A large object with six spikes protruding from the back was welded onto it, and appeared to be some kind of a hovercraft. The arms were large and looked extremely heavy, and on the left arm there was a disk, a shield of some sort. On the right arm was a mediocre-sized weapon and looked somewhat of a new-age machine gun. The core of the beast was an oval shape and a small cube placed in the center. This cube contained missiles within it. On the right shoulder was a gun that took up the length of the AC, and it looked somewhat of a shotgun. On the other shoulder was mounted what appeared to be an extremely powerful laser cannon. On the back was another jetpack but no two spheres on the shoulder blades. The head was a stout cranium that looked to be made of a circle, cut in half. In the center of it was a smaller disk that barely separated the two halves. The whole machine was a metallic silver, with stains of dark blue painted onto the steel. This AC appeared to be extremely fast and agile, not to mention a powerful blaster.  
  
"Ah, Fugitive." Joe sighed, walking up and hugging the AC with four legs, Joe not even tall enough as half of the machine's toe, and he was the tallest of the three friends. "Good to see you again, old chum."  
  
Ben strided up to the one in the center, the one that looked the most intimidating. "Hard to believe I made you from scratch, Benjamonster." He commented, patting the AC fondly. "It took me all this time, but you made it. And there is only a few things left to complete on you."  
  
"Why, hello, Vengeance." Shane greeted his AC machine, looking up at it proudly as it stood suspended on chains. "Long time no see."  
  
Ben grabbed his welder and slapped down his mask, sparks emitting from the black steel as he welded in his beast of iron and metal.  
  
"You know," A voice stated from behind him. It was Shane. "If we didn't have the used parts in this abandoned garage we may have never been able to create these AC's."  
  
Ben grinned and held up his welding tool in the air. "Amen to that, man." He chuckled before returning back to his work. Little did they know that as they laughed, sweat, and created their AC's that their destiny would soon be upon them…  
  
(the next day..)  
  
The bell rang as Ben, Shane, and Joe sat down in their desks side-by-side in the math classroom, a peculiar aura of misfortune and doom lingered in the morning atmosphere.  
  
"Dude, I wonder what's up here? It seems so…so…" Joe broke off, struggling for a word to finish his sentence.  
  
"Gloomy?" Ben finished.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Suddenly, a voice crackled over the intercom speaker of the classroom, the voice sounding depressed and sullen.  
  
"Students of this edification center please heed your attention to this message." All fell silent as the voice continued over the speaker. "As you all know, there has been a misfortune to this country…last night our state was attacked by several foreign AC machines not too far from this structure." A great bustle arose in the classroom at this statement as the announced proceeded. "There has been an immense demand for AC pilots to assist us in this civil war against our country and so this order proceeds as follows:" An intense, anxious hush fell over the classroom as the speaker paused and the sound of papers shuffling could be heard in the background. "Any person who or now with the knowledge of AC piloting absolutely with no regard must be drafted for army purposes. If a college student with enough knowledge of AC piloting may be released from their schooling education to assist this country. However, if in this instance, they must be tried to guarantee they can deal with the war. Tryouts are posted in every state at least once individual time and a default AC machine will be used for tryouts, but in the case one is already in possession of an AC droid, they are more than welcome to use their own."  
  
Too much of a commotion broke out to possibly comprehend the rest of the message except for "…after school", "…Four-o'-clock", and "…Middendorf Hangar". Ben, Joe, and Shane were exceptionally loud. Not only did they have their own skills to definitely make it into war, they had their own AC's as well! They day seemed to crawl by and before they knew it, they were standing before their beloved AC's, shrink cubes in hand. Within seconds, the massive monsters were entrapped as billions of molecules within the cubes and in their backpacks. Shane grabbed his skateboard, as Joe whipped on his roller-blades and Ben strapped on his land-board. (Somewhat of a skateboard with three-times-as-large, all-terrain wheels, grip-tape, and straps for the feet) The garage door slammed loudly behind them, the garage itself now barren of the machines, as they zoomed down the pavement toward the Middendorf Hangar, looking their future straight in the eye… 


	3. Shane's Test of Worth

Shane gripped his skateboard as he soared through the air over the hill in the sidewalk. He spun a full 360 degrees in midair and landed perfectly, pushing the board on with his foot as he gave it velocity. Ben followed soon after, bringing his board up to his head while gripping it, before putting down and landing on the pavement yet again. Joe came next, flipping over as he soared through the air, he landed in a crouching position with one wheel off of the ground, he stood up and propelled himself further, his cube bouncing against his thigh within his baggy jeans.  
  
A corner loomed into view as the trio whizzed down the street, wind whipping their hair, Joe's ponytail flowing behind him. Shane, still in the lead, leaped into the air, and directly after the kick flip he completed, the board landed upside-down on the rail on the corner curb. Sparks flew as Shane screeched along the metal, balancing carefully on the rail. As it curved around the bend, Shane shifted his weight and swiftly concluded another kick flip and landed perfectly on the ground, speed un-wavered. Ben grabbed the light post, his fingers, which were poking out from the black half-glove he was wearing, wrapping around the cold metal and Ben whirled around the pavement bend as he grasped his board. Ben land on the sidewalk backwards, only the nose of his board scarcely riding along the ground. Rapidly and swiftly, Ben leaped into the air and spun a full 180 degrees, landing perfectly once more. Joe also gripped the light pole, yet as he let go, his blades slammed against a fence wall beside them. He rode on the wall for a few scarce seconds before leaping of and twirling in the air, landing perfectly.  
  
The trio of friends kept up their stunts, all the way to the Middendorf Hangar. Shane screeched to a stop and slammed his foot down on his board as he stepped dingily off of it. The board flipped up into his hand as Ben skidded to a stop as well. Ben un-strapped himself from the board and hopped off, jamming his sneaker down upon the side of the board and it twirled up into the air and into his outstretched hand. Joe appeared up behind them, and he did a full 360 turn before stopping. He unlatched his blades and popped them off; he reached into the cube in his pocket and pulled it out. His rollerblades shrinking into the minute cube and a pair of full-sized sneakers emerged from the depths of the cube. The other two did the same, shrinking their boards into their own individual cubes. Looking before them, their jaws dropped open as they witnessed the immense line before them, at least a hundred participants.  
  
"We-uh-we might just be here for a while." Shane stuttered.  
  
"No, really?" Joe answered sarcastically, not even glancing at his blue- haired friend. "What was your first clue, Sherlock Shane?"  
  
After what seemed like hours, however, it was Shane's turn. He stepped forward nervously, a man looking up at him, a strict gleam in his eye.  
  
"I'm, um, here to be tested." Shane stammered tensely. The man sitting before him narrowed his eyes at Shane as he gulped down the colossal lump in his throat. "Um…sir." He finished, a hopeful tone in his voice this time.  
  
"Yeah," The man growled in an irritated tone. "You and everyone else in the world." He glanced down at the chart before him and without even as much as a glance up at Shane, grumbled, "Name?"  
  
"Uh, Shane Carter." Shane answered.  
  
"Fine." The man snarled, scribbling down his name. "The default AC is back there." He ended, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "Uh, um, I kind of brought my own, um…sir." Shane mumbled, holding up the cube in his pocket.  
  
At this the man looked up at him, his jaw set like a bulldog. "You have your own AC?" He asked in a skeptical voice. "Whatdja' do, build it out of scrap metal?" Shane gulped again and smiled nervously. "Um, mostly." He answered meekly. "Does it even work?" The man asked, getting angrier by the minute. "Uh…um…I think so." Shane answered timidly. The man chuckled at this. "Heh, yeah- give it a shot, slick. Don't expect to get drafted with a busted AC made from crap." "Uh, thanks." Shane stammered and began to walk off as the man growled loudly. "…Sir?" Shane finished with a backward glance.  
  
Shane rounded the corner of the hangar and pushed open the door and was greeted by darkness as the door slammed shut behind him. "Um, Hello? Is anyone here?" Suddenly, a bright light flooded the area as he blinked in the newly found light. Two silhouettes stood before him, one looking as if her was dressed in a space suit.  
  
"Yes, and I presume you are Mr. Shane Carter?" The first silhouette asked, Shane's eyes still adjusting to the bright, white light. "Um, Yes sir. I'm here for-" "Drafting." The first silhouette interrupted. "Am I correct in assuming that you have also brought your own AC?" "Yes, sir." "Let's see how it battles. You will be fighting against Sergeant Hugh Miller in your AC as he fights in his own. Now," He stepped forward and Shane could clearly make out a tall, black haired man in his mid-thirties. "Let's see how you battle."  
  
Suddenly, the floor opened up behind them and a titanic form began to emerge from the depths of it. It was the default AC. This machine was a dull gray with the same head as Shane's machine. In its hand was a gun that looked much like a futuristic blaster and it had a sphere on the next hand. The core was round with a rocket pack and two small globes mounted on the back. On the shoulders was a rapid-fire gun and a missile cube, the legs were like that of a human and looked neither light nor heavy weight. It appeared to be a beginner's AC or some sort. Shane smirked and fingered the cube in his pocket. The AC completed its entrance and as Sgt. Miller, a middle-aged brown haired man, was lifted up to the head of the machine, Shane released his own. Within seconds, Vengeance appeared from the minuscule cube to a spot before them. The AC was mounted on the ground seeing as it did not posses any legs. Suddenly, the ground underneath Shane shifted and a portion of the ground underneath his feet began to rise him up to Vengeance.  
  
"Hey, old boy." Shane whispered as he dropped down into the head of his AC. He cracked his knuckles. "Let's see what you can do, huh?" Shane told Vengeance as he grabbed they key from his baggy carpenter pants. Shane inserted the key into the ignition and miniature lights flickered on all around him as he sat in the head of his AC machine, revealing switches, buttons, and levers all around him. Suddenly, Shane was lifted up into the air! The anti-gravity on Vengeance had succeeded! He hover there, waiting for Hugh to make the first move.  
  
"Gentlemen," A voice boomed somewhere from the loudspeaker. "Please start." A buzzer erupted from outside of the arena and Hugh instantly bolted forward, the colossal feet slamming down on the ground. Vengeance stood its ground, waiting for the blow! Hugh grew closer, and CLOSER! Suddenly, the sword on his right hand ignited and it was swung violently. Shane strained the controls inside and Vengeance immediately whipped its hand up, the laser shield zapped into play and sparks flew violently as the two beams connected! Hugh rushed by and skid to a stop, whirling around in his tracks. Vengeance zoomed high into the air, engine roaring as he whirled around to face his opponent. Hugh was rocketing toward him, his boosters ablaze as he aimed his gun! Shots rang out and Vengeance put his shield into play once more, the laser bullets deflecting harmlessly off of it! As Hugh advanced, he ignited his sword and Shane barely had time to bolt out of the way as the laser sword was swung, the metal warming from the intense heat of the blade!  
  
Vengeance whirled on the spot as Hugh whipped around in midair seeing as he had passed his colossal target. BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! Vengeance lowered the tremendous Slug-Gun on his shoulder (the one looking like a shot gun) and fired three profound and deathly shots! Hugh disengaged his boosters and dropped to the ground, but as the Slug-Gun blasted a spread of shots, several of the pellets ripped into the steel! "Damn!" Hugh cursed from inside of the AC as sparks flew into his space helmet. Vengeance plummeted toward the ground and as Shane flipped switches and jammed buttons inside of Vengeance frantically, at the last second halting before slamming into the ground. Shane glanced out of Vengeance's tremendous visor in time to glance Hugh rushing for him yet again!  
  
"This guy does not give up!" Shane yelled furiously from inside his machine. Shane slammed his thumb into a green button, igniting the boosters and as Shane jammed down the joystick, Vengeance soared to a lofty perch. Hugh struggled to disengage his own booster and veered his steering wheel to the left as his AC swerved to avoid the white wall directly in front of him! Sparks flew dangerously into the air as the steel screeched against the tile as Hugh grappled from slamming into the wall and soon twirled around to avoid a collision against the wall! From above Shane lowered Vengeance's laser cannon and pressed his thumb down on the fire button mounted on the joystick so violently, the skin underneath his fingernail turned white. ZAP! ZAP! Hugh looked up only able to see two titanic laser blasts blazing for his AC!  
  
BLAM!!!  
  
Within seconds his cockpit was flowing with blazing fire and sparks from the machinery as his AC toppled to the ground in flames, arm blasted off and core burnt directly through! The ground rumbled violently as the AC connected with the white tile! Shane had won!  
  
Using his sniper vision of Vengeance from his towering post above, he was able to see the black-haired man nod, smiling in a satisfied sort of way from a domed area in the room. He had made it! He was in! But, now…it was Joe's turn….. 


	4. Joe's Rampage in the Arena

"I wonder how Mr. Spiky-Blue-Hair is coming along in there." Joe told his friend, who was still looking ahead at the hangar anxiously. "He'd better hurry up, 'cause I'm going next."  
  
Suddenly, the doors burst open and Shane rushed out, a grin plastered along his face. "I made it!" He told his friends almost bursting with excitement. "He said I had the true works of an AC pilot! I got to go," He finished breathlessly as he snatched up his skateboard as soon as he un-shrunk it. "I have to go tell Rachael right away! Good luck, guys!" With that he whipped his board underneath his feet and zoomed off, his cheers of victory being heard in the distance.  
  
"AHEM!" A gruff voice coughed from behind them as they watched Shane ride off, the voice attempting to grab a hold of their attention. Ben and Joe turned around, coming face-to-face with an angry mid-aged man at a desk.  
  
"Next?" He asked exasperatedly, glaring at the two, eyeing Joe's ponytail with disgust.  
  
"Me, sir." Joe spoke up.  
  
"Name?"  
  
"Joe Minchow."  
  
"Around back, I presume you also have your own steam-driven, pile-of-junk AC, boy?" Joe set his jaw at this and clenched his fists, the cube digging painfully into the palm of his hand. Joe had a temper problem and struggled to keep it in. "Yes…sir." He growled, toiling to keep from bursting. Joe walked across back and found a large beam of wood in his path, just the right size for him to pick up.  
  
Joe grabbed the beam in his hands and smashed it over his knee in rage, splinters of wood flying into the air. Joe narrowed his eyes. "I'll show you pile-of-junk, and you'll be sorry." He growled.  
  
Joe pushed open the door and fingered the cube, giving no thought to the bright light. Two silhouettes standing before him. Joe was given the same routine as Shane, this time he was fighting a man in his twenties named 'Jonathon Campbell', the pilot using an exact replicate of the one before. Joe clenched the cube in his palm and instantly, a large form was zapped out from somewhere within the miniscule cube's depths. Four legs and medieval lance arms, it was Joe's AC. As soon as Joe was dropped into the head of Fugitive, he jammed the key into the ignition and twisted it angrily. "Steam-driven…" He growled. "I'll show you steam-driven." The engine roared to life and Joe wrapped his hands in the dual handles he used to control his four-legged beast. "Bring it." Joe snarled.  
  
Suddenly, the opponent AC rushed forward, gray steel glinting in the light! "I don't think so!" Joe yelled as he veered his handles and twisted them to the left. Suddenly, Fugitive's Grenade-Launcher on his shoulder lowered and…BLAM! A shot was fire so powerful that the AC skid back a yard or two! BOOM! The AC's arm blasted off into shrapnel, shards of metal flying into the air! Joe jammed his boosters into play and his AC crouched down as the opponent neared, left hand missing, sparks blasting from the void!  
  
Fugitive leaped into the air, his boosters keeping him airborne! WHAM! The room shook violently as the other AC rushing for him slammed violently into the wall, seeing as its target moved! Joe twisted his handles again and this time, Fugitive's two arms began to gather energy and soon…BLAM! Two immense laser shots bursted from the dual calibers and exploded into the ground as the opponent AC leaped into the air with use of its boosters, and swerved and dodged the two shots missing the iron by mere feet! Joe growled angrily and disengaged the boosters, beginning to plummet towards the ground! The opponent veered and stopped in midair before diving after Joe! Joe slammed violently into the ground, the white tile smashing immensely as the colossal structure smashed into it!  
  
Joe glanced up and slammed down several switches inside of Fugitive, a determined look on his face! "Eat this!" He yelled as he twisted the handles and the cube of missiles on his shoulder dropped open! Suddenly, dozens of missiles whished through the cube, locking onto the diving AC! Within seconds, a form of a pilot in a parachute was seen gliding to the ground as the missiles made contact, shrapnel exploding airborne as the explosion lit up the room even more! Shards of steel fell to the ground as Joe turned the key in the ignition, turning Fugitive off. Joe flipped a switch and a section of the head flipped up, allowing him to climb out, anger now diminished greatly. Joe stepped out of his AC and looked toward the man who had told him of his test. He gave him the thumbs-up and Joe thrust his fist into the air in victory!  
  
"YES!!!" 


End file.
